A Brief Intro to Cruising Alaska’s Beautiful Inside Passage
I am fascinated by Alaska and am always looking for opportunities to further explore our 49th State. The thoughts and information below come from an email I wrote to a friend who is interested in visiting Alaska by sea. I thought that some of the content in my message to her might be valuable to a wider audience, so I am including it below:
While the Inside Passage is spectacular, there’s still a lot of Alaska left to see.
As you may know, there are two ways to see Alaska: by land or by sea. These are very different experiences and, to be honest, it’s hard to do both “fully” during the same trip. (More on this below.) A majority of the visitors that journey to Alaska each year do a round-trip cruise through the Inside Passage. For more info on the Inside Passage, click here. These Inside Passage cruises are typically about a week in length, beginning and ending in either Seattle, Washington, or Vancouver, Canada. They can be priced very reasonably. I was just poking around and found fares as low as $523 per person on Royal Caribbean out of Seattle next May. July is peak season (more expensive) because in theory the weather is more consistent/warmer and also families have time off from school etc. But if budget is a priority, I personally wouldn't hesitate to do it in May or September (shoulder season). It’s not as cold as you think.
The Spectacular Inside Passage
I don't know how much "cruising experience'' you have, so I'm going to offer a quick refresher. 😎 When I say (for example) that it costs $523 per person, I am talking about the basic cruise fare, for an inside cabin (no ocean view or balcony). This means that you have a place to lay your head, three meals a day, and lots of great entertainment. That price assumes that there are two of you in a room. If there is just one, you will usually have to pay a "single supplement". Most importantly, it often does not include beverages. So you could tell me "Ted, go out and find us a cruise/price that includes a beverage package". I could do that, but it's going to increase that $523 per person fare. Now perhaps you are looking at $800 total per person. The next thing to consider is shore excursions. This is especially important in Alaska. In the Caribbean, you could just skip the shore excursions and walk off the ship..... Maybe take a taxi to the beach. It's not that simple in Alaska. When the ship docks, you need to have a plan. There are typically 4 port calls on these trips, so I would budget $600 per person ($150 per shore excursion). Some of my clients prefer to purchase their shore excursions directly from the cruise line as part of their “integrated cruise package”. Others prefer that I book their excursions through third parties that are waiting for them when they dock. In any case, along with the beverage package, you are now up to $1400 per person. Now, let's buy some travel insurance, at least some basic coverage that allows you to cancel the cruise if you or a family member gets ill. Insurance costs vary, but we’ll just use $300 per person for this example. Assuming your roundtrip airfare is about $400 from your home to Seattle, you are now looking at about $2100 per person. Is this a good value? Yes, it's an EXCELLENT value, and for $2100 per person, you will have a wonderful time. I just don't want you to look at the $523 base price and think you are "done". 🙃
You never know what you’ll see in Alaska
Speaking of price, one of the aspects of cruising that can greatly effect pricing is your choice of cabin. If you are cost-sensitive, then an interior cabin is probably going to be your preference. I mean, after all, you are mainly in the room to sleep, so saving money with your cabin choice can be a very reasonable strategy. On the other hand, having balcony/veranda on an Alaskan cruise can be very nice, since you are almost always in sight of interesting things to see, from mountains to glaciers, and even wildlife. (You can, of course, access these views from the ship’s public areas as well.) Here’s a great primer for choosing a cabin.
You can’t experience Denali (Mt. McKinley) from the water.
OK, so moving along. You know how I said that you need to decide if you want to visit Alaska by land or sea. Well, I lied...kind of. There are ways to do both. Most cruise lines in Alaska offer land extensions on certain itineraries, referred to as cruise-tours. Like I said above, most of these Inside Passage cruises are round trip. But a few itineraries are northbound-only, or southbound only. A northbound trip might start in Seattle or Vancouver, and slowly make its way up the Inside Passage. When it gets to the top, instead of turning around, the passengers get off and do a land trip (often by train) where they spend a night or two at Denali National park or other interior destination. Then instead of cruising back south, the passengers fly back to the mainland US from an Alaskan airport such as Fairbanks. These land extensions can increase the cost of the trip, but if you don't think you will go back in the future to visit the Alaskan interior, then the extension could help you kill two birds with one stone. Alaska cruise-only itineraries are typically 6-8 days, while the cruise-tour extensions usually add another 3 days. So cruise-tours are usually10-12 days when you add the land and sea portions together.
Which cruise line? Honestly, you really can't go wrong, even though loyal cruisers usually have their favorites. Almost all of the popular cruise ship lines sail the Inside Passage from May-September. Princess and Holland America have been in the Alaska market for a long time and have a strong reputation, especially for their cruise-tours. Rather than the cruise line itself, your schedule, budget and expectations may be the deciders. For example, many people may prefer a small-ship cruise experience. The small ships can get to places that larger ships generally can’t, and may also include shore excursions as part of the base price. You generally pay more for these experiences on lines such as UnCruise or Lindblad.
No matter what your preferences are, I look forward to working with you to find your perfect Alaska experience. Reach out when you’re ready!
